BENGALURU: The All-Karnataka Unaided Private Educational Institutions Association has urged the State Government to take immediate steps to protect Kannada medium schools and relax strict regulations imposed on them. Association state president Revanasiddappa Jalade and state honorary president CN Bhan-dari said that thousands of Kannada schools have shut down in the last 9–10 years due to “excessive government rules”. “Rural students are losing access to affordable education in their mother tongue because the state is not filling teacher vacancies and not providing basic facilities,” said Jalade.
The forum alleged that many private Kannada medium schools have become weak and unsustainable. “Our mother tongue must survive, and so must Kannada schools. But government negligence is leading to their decline,” they said.
The association submitted a petition to the CM and the Education Minister demanding measures, including subsidising private institutions set up after 1995, simplifying conditions for starting Kannada schools, easing permission renewal processes, re-implementing the RTE for private schools, filling vacancies in aided institutions, curbing unauthorised coaching centres, and halting the replacement of Kannada schools with English-medium Karnataka Public Scho-ols.
“Our demands are simple: appoint teachers, provide infrastr-ucture, and protect Kannada medium education,” they said. The association will protest at Freedom Park on August 19.